At last month's meeting of the Lents Neighborhood Association, Portland City Commissioner Randy Leonard told a less than enthusiastic audience that "Having a Triple A baseball stadium would be the best thing we could ever have happen in Lents." While criticism of the stadium deal grows - including official rejection by the Portland Parks Board - Leonard remains unmoved in his belief that "downtown" interests, not neighborhood residents, are behind the opposition.
But what do the residents of Lents really think? The Lents deal has triggered deep-seated concerns about livability, affordable housing, economic development, historic preservation and how much voice citizens have with City Hall. Dave Mazza talks with Lents residents Kathleen Juergens de Ponce and Nick Christensen, organizers of Friends of Lents Park, about what their neighbors are concerned about and what they really think about Randy Leonard's desire to play ball in Lents. He also talks with Damien Chakwin, chair of the Lents Neighborhood Association and a supporter of the stadium proposal.
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